Farms, Hospitals, and All Nighters

I went on a field trip with Brendan's preschool class today. We had a lot of fun, although (truth be told) I think I may have had more fun than Brendan. The cows made him (and most of the other kids) a little nervous at first, and the pigs he found rather ... well, stinky! I think the sheep -- with the overly aggressive ram and a whole bunch of lambs -- were the best part. But by then I had taken so many pictures that I had filled up both of my memory cards. What can I say? I'm a picture freak.

We got home from the field trip to find Mark in agonizing pain upstairs. It hit suddenly and fiercely. We usually wait around for an hour (or two or three) to see if it will pass, but this was so severe that we quickly took off for the hospital. All the test, though, show nothing out of the ordinary (his ordinary, anyway). They finally took the edge off enough for him to come home after about four hours. I almost wish that they'd find something one of these days. Anything (almost). Something can possibly be treated. Nothing is ... well, nothing! Nothing but frustration and pain.

On a more positive note, the kids don't have school tomorrow. It's the end of the term -- grading day for the teachers. Kaitlyn is gone right now at a "girls' night in" at the junior high. (She'll be home at 9:30.) Then tomorrow she's going to an all nighter with her youth group. Sunday she has to paint the downstairs to earn the money for this outing. We give her a sizable sum at the beginning of the month. As sizable as we can reasonably afford, anyway. And she is responsible for making it last. This month it lasted ... four days. I didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't go to this event. Perhaps I should have, since that was the deal. No money, no outings. But I just couldn't. So I'm making her paint the stairwell and the dining room wall instead. Although she has a friend coming to help her -- a rather spastic friend -- so this may turn out to be an adventure and not the lesson that I intend for it to be! I guess we'll see!